Cal State Stanislaus basketball winning games and fan support

If Doug Cornfoot closes his eyes he still can hear the cheers.

The Turlock High basketball coach was one of the top players on the 1982 Cal State Stanislaus basketball team that captured the heart of the city and filled its gym to capacity en route to the NCAA Division III Final Four.

“It was a great home court advantage,” Cornfoot said. “The gym never really filled up until the students got back from break, but when we played late in league and in the playoffs it was standing-room-only and you got goosebumps just running out on the court. The people will come if you win.”

It’s been 33 years since Stanislaus men’s basketball truly caught the attention of the region, but strong signs of revival are there. Last year’s California Collegiate Athletic Association championship has been followed by another strong season, and the Warriors will be in first place as they host Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, with Cal State Los Angeles visiting Fitzpatrick Arena the following night.

It’s the first time the Stanislaus men (9-3 CCAA, 12-5 overall) have been in first place at this point of the season since joining the CCAA in 1998, and, as Cornfoot said, the fans have noticed that the Warriors are winning.

“Our ticket sales have increased by more than 100 percent over previous years,” said athletic director Mike Matoso. “Our last Saturday home game (Jan. 17) had the highest number of tickets sold since I’ve been here, and that was without the students or a lot of the faculty being here. We’re preparing to perhaps sell out the next two weekends and that creates problems – nice problems – we’ve never dealt with before.”

The box score for that Jan. 17 victory over San Francisco State indicated a crowd of 718 in the 2,000-seat building. But Matoso pointed out that the number reflected ticket sales and didn’t include the Pitman High band, which is present for all home games, or the people who somehow found their way into the building through different avenues than the main entrance.

“There are so many entrances into that arena that we’re dealing with having to monitor the back and side doors to tighten that up,” Matoso said. “We announced that number, but it’s easy to look around and see far more people than that in the stands.”

The Warriors officially are averaging 612 fans per home game – a figure based on the attendance figures they report to the conference and one almost identical to the season-ending averages of the last two years. But the students, who haven’t been on campus since Dec. 9, returned Tuesday to begin the spring semester. That means Friday’s women’s/men’s doubleheader will be the first this season played with a full complement of students and faculty on campus.

“The students bring so much energy and life to the arena,” Matoso said. “I’ve felt the change in the last three years in the level of pride within the university and that’s what you want. We have a niche we can carve out here because this historically hasn’t been a college town. So it’s fun to see the students more engaged and taking more pride in what we’re doing.”

University President Joseph F. Sheley, a courtside regular, said a strong athletic program is one of the important building blocks of spirit, both on campus and in the community.

“What I’m seeing is athletics as both a driver of community interest and as a reflection of a larger base of community interest,” Sheley said, referring to the recent successes in soccer, golf and track and field in addition to men’s basketball. “But it’s not just athletics turning people’s heads, it’s the entire university. We’re doing well in every field and people are noticing. I’m very happy that we’re also doing well in athletics because it tells people that all the boats are rising together in our sea.”

Sheley added that as these programs rise, especially those in the athletics and the arts, the campus starts to shed its reputation as a commuter campus where students are here only for the duration of their classes and becomes more of a destination for students and the general public.

“One of the neat things to watch has been the evolution in a fairly short time from a traditional commuter school to what is now a place for students to engage,” Sheley said. “When you walk out of classes and events, you see people and students who stay around because they enjoy being there, and part of that is due to the added value of athletics, music and drama.”

Can the Warriors start filling their home arena on a regular basis for basketball? Matoso thinks so.

“We’re getting more mentions in the media and there have been good words in the community about what’s going on here,” Matoso said. “Right now, we’re hitting the students pretty hard with promotions, and I think with homecoming next weekend, we could be full, especially on Friday.

“I don’t see us turning people away at the gate, but we may be asking people to scrunch together a little tighter. I do think there is a chance to start selling out regularly once people come and see the atmosphere and see the quality of the game.”

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Cal State Stanislaus basketball winning games and fan support."